Heating Up DoD's Bioengineering Future

Courtesy Photo | A midshipman from the U.S. Naval Academy works at the Naval Research Laboratory as part of a team that will compete at the 2016 DTRA Syn Bio Academies Challenge. Photo courtesy of Joel Golden, Naval Research Laboratory.  

FORT BELVOIR, VA, UNITED STATES

06.22.2017

Courtesy Story

Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Chemical and Biological Technologies Department

Synthetic biology is a growing necessity to develop new countermeasures for chemical and biological threats, but a DoD report highlighted gaps in "human capital," revealing its lack of service members with sufficient knowledge of the subject. To integrate young service members into the emerging field, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Chemical and Biological Technologies Department collaborated with U.S. military academies through their Service Academy Initiative.

Brian Pate, Ph.D., a DTRA CB scientist, launched the DTRA Syn Bio Academies Challenge. The annual event, a major focus of the initiative, aims to inspire future warfighters to advance their bioengineering prowess during a friendly competition. The challenge focuses on utilizing synthetic biology, the increased ability to control, create, modify, build or re-program biological systems for new defense strategies.

DTRA’s effort also pairs cadets and midshipmen to compete in the International Genetically Engineering Machine Competition (iGEM), the premier synthetic biology student competition.

A DoD report highlighted opportunities for synthetic biology investment, including applications in materials, sensing and medical countermeasures for defense against biological and chemical weapons. Through ongoing partnerships across interagency, DoD and federal laboratories, military service academies and the broader academic community, DTRA is leading the defense community in responsible development of new countermeasures enabled by this technology.

This year, both the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) and the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) will participate in the DTRA Syn Bio Academies Challenge. Three service academy teams will also compete in the 2017 iGEM competition to demonstrate their advancements in synthetic biology for improved defense capabilities.

A USMA team, mentored by USMA and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) scientists, is developing a sensor platform that exploits olfactory systems to permit early detection of pathogen-associated metabolites. Researchers may use this project to identify individuals with infection or detect chemical and biological agents. This work provides the foundation for transformational approaches of advanced sensors with potential applications in biological sensing, signal transduction and surveillance. In addition, the sensors may be paired with re-combinatorial and protein engineering approaches.

A second USMA team of reservists, cadets and veterans seeks to harness the power of cells to create bio-functional materials in the form of paper sensors. These new materials may enable complex analysis and reporting, currently not possible. The team is mentored by DoD research scientists at the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center, USMA, the University of Washington and Joint Base Lewis–McChord.

Expanding on its winning 2016 effort, the USNA team is characterizing dermal and inhalation toxin interactions to enable the development of improved protective countermeasures. This project creates a mathematical model for intracellular ion concentrations and a pathway to detect and eliminate the toxins. Benefits include the identification of microbial host organisms and key bacterial indicators of toxin exposure for biological detection (sensor) development, and provides a proof-of-concept that exposure to toxins can be linked to gene expression for the warfighter and scientific communities.

DTRA CB’s investment in synthetic biology highlights the critical nature of DTRA’s work in fostering scientific knowledge, as well as leading the global pursuit of responsible applications to countering chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. This DTRA CB effort will increase the use and investigation of bioengineering approaches to aid in preparedness of warfighters.

• Date Taken: 06.22.2017
• Date Posted: 06.22.2017 10:35
• Story ID: 238785
• Location: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US